Every so often we are going to add in some video news highlights from that particular day relating to health and medicine. I'm hoping to provide some contrasting perspective of modern health trends versus health trends from the 19th century.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- Sea-Water
Sea-Water.-Sea-water varies considerably in composition, being, of course, more concentrated, as a rule, in the tropical regions, where evaporation is most active, such, for example, as in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean near the equator. According to analysis, the water in the English Channel contains in 1000 parts‑
Chloride of Sodium 28.05
Chloride of Magnesium…………………….. 3.66
Sulphate of Magnesia 2.29
Sulphate of Lime ……………………………. 1.40
Other Saline Materials ……………………….. .76
Total Solid Matter…………………….. 36. 16
Besides these, and perhaps contributing largely to the healthful qualities of sea-water, there exist in the ocean small quantities of iodine and bromide, and extremely minute amounts of some of the common metals. It has been found that, by dissolving a little common salt and carbonate of soda, lime and magnesia in distilled sea-water, its taste is rendered much more agreeable; and this plan, it is said, is adopted in the Russian navy.
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As in the last section where they talk about distilling sea water for drinking on ships, this talks about some of the other materials that can be extracted during the distillation process. With the exception of salt extraction some of these other materials don’t seem terribly practical. Times do change however, and if water is extracted every bit of material that comes with it has to go somewhere whether it can be sold in bulk for mass production of vitamins or horse supplements or what ever.
- Wonders of the Eye.
Wonders of the Eye. – the human eye is one of the most wonderful, as well as delicate, organs of the body. It is the window through which the heart, mind and soul of man shines. Sorrow or joy, reformers, pain or pleasure, sunshine or shadow or reflected through this wondrous camera of light; the human passions hold their orgies in this window; truth and love dance they’re happy and joyous daydreams before its luminous curtain; and through it accurate to limitations of every object comes within its range are carried to and photographed on the brain, the great Art Gallery of the soul! Can man, with all of his great and scientific achievements, conceive of anything in the arcana of his accomplishments more beautiful, more wonderful, or more perfect than the human eye!
Just a quick refresher, our transcription strives to be great but is still not fool proof. If you spot an error or something that looks wrong, please drop us a comment and let us know and we will review it again. As we cover writing from 100 years ago, it sometimes becomes difficult to spot an error created now from one that was borderline then. In the meantime, we’ll try not to pull the roller shades down over our own eyes . . .
- Cockroaches
Cockroaches.–Cockroaches are brownish or black in color, broad and flattened in shape and smooth and bard to the touch. All cockroaches should be destroyed. They not only annoy, but, even though it has not been proven, they, no doubt, carry disease germs by coming in contact with discharges, etc., from ill persons and convey filth and germs to food, etc.
When we lived in Boca Raton several years ago, we used to see extremely large ‘palmetto bugs’ which look a great deal like a cock roach but are a little different. Many people only run into these bugs taking Orlando vacations or hit the beach in Florida or the gulf, but when you live there the relationship is up close and sometimes personal! They are very numerous in pantries, kitchens and in the walls near a stove and fire places. They are apt to be abundant in oven rooms or bakeries and wherever the temperature is kept above normal. They usually appear at night or wherever light is absent and thus are protected from their common enemies. Owing to their shape they can squeeze into tiny cracks. They scurry away when surprised and generally escape capture or destruction, due to their speedy gait. They feed on animal matter, cereals and any food material ; also eat woolens, leather cloth and leather bindings of books (clue to the presence of paste). They give off a fetid, nauseous odor, which persists even after thorough cleaning. They taint food supplies, stain shelves and dishes and when present in large numbers, render the air of a room unbearable. This is duo not only to their excretion, but mostly to an oily liquid secreted in the scent gland and a dark colored fluid in the mouth. They will destroy bedbugs. No contagious disease can be said to be properly treated or isolated, if cockroaches are scurrying about the walls, carpets, food, etc., of a sickroom and allowed to persist and possibly convey the germs of the disease to others in the house or to neighbors.
